News Roundup: Mortal Kombat X

With the launch of the next entry in the infamously-gory fighting game franchise "Mortal Kombat" coming in just about a month, the news and rumors train for "Mortal Kombat X" has been picking up steam. Rather than flood you with a dozen articles for every little piece of info and gossip that came to be during the month of February, we've gathered all of it here for you in one post.

1. Character Rumors Aplenty

Cowboys, Predators and Spawn — oh my. NetherRealm Studios, the development team behind "Mortal Kombat X," is notoriously equal parts cagey and teasing when it comes to new character announcements. Mortal Kombat creator and game director Ed Boon takes the cake on teases, though; his twitter is grounds for all kinds of cryptic tweets about new characters and reveals.

Why bring this up? Well, one of the first major new character rumors to drop this month is that the titular apex hunter from the Predator franchise will be a playable character in the game, alongside Colonel Al Dillon who was portrayed in the film by infamous chicken-stew enthusiast Carl Weathers. The actor has signed off for his likeness to be used in the game, according to an anonymous report.

The previous entry in the "Mortal Kombat" series had a famous playable movie-monster in the form of Freddy Krueger, and NetherRealm has made it clear that they plan to introduce iconic guest characters into their newest title as well, thanks in part to the fact that the game is being published by Warner Brothers.

Additionally, Boon hastweeted multipletimes about Predator, fanning the flames of possibility even further that we might see the character in "Mortal Kombat X" at some point.

Another strong case for a crossover character came up thanks to Todd McFarlane, an artist, writer and toy designer who is responsible for creating the grim anti-hero Spawn. In an interview with GamerFitNation, McFarlane stated that NetherRealm has the rights to use Spawn in "Mortal Kombat X" and an unspecified number of other titles.

“[NetherRealm] has access to be able to use the character in a couple of their games, if they want to,” McFarlane said. “Again, it’s up to their discretion. I gave them a window of time, so I’ll just leave it to them to do what it is that they want. Eventually, they’ll phone me and they’ll go, ‘Hey, we want to use him here. Is that OK?’ Well, technically, it’s OK because we’ve already said yes. They just are letting us know.”

So, while it isn't an outright confirmation of him being in the game, it is still possible that another entry will be added to Spawn's resume of fighting game appearances. As always, Boon was quick to tease.

The final character rumor is a bit more of a strong confirmation. Alongside the upcoming release of "Mortal Kombat X," there has been a mini-series comic book running this year that aims to flesh out the story of the game and show off plenty of characters, new and old. A recent character to show up was Erron Black, a shadowy Wild West figure who works alongside two other new characters, D'Vorah and Kotal Kahn.

While the other two are confirmed to be playable, it remains to be seen if Erron will be joining them on the roster. In a recent trailer, we saw him featured briefly in a cutscene, strengthening the possibility of him being playable in the game.

2. Microtransactions and a Trip to Japan

On the other spectrum of rumors and teases, some information on additional downloadable content (DLC) plans seems to be trickling out.

First, when questioned by IGN Entertainment about the possibility of in-game microtransactions being present in the new title, Marketing Manager Brian Goodman had little to say.

“We are not releasing any details on that yet,” Goodman said. “Nothing to say about microtransactions yet.”

Additionally, a supposed screenshot of a PS3 pre-order screen for the game reveals a Feudal Japan DLC pack that we haven't heard anything about.

While there hasn't been any word on these Feudal Japan skins, a recent story trailer for the game showed off a number of characters clothed in what could definitely be described as ancient Japanese attire. We do know, however, that the season pass for the game will feature four additional fighters who are still in development. It will also include extra skins, though exactly how many isn't known yet.

3. A Brutal New Reveal

Anyone who even slightly knows about the "Mortal Kombat" series will be familiar with the iconic Fatality, an incredibly gory end-of-the-match finisher that is always preceded by someone saying "Alright, lemme just uhhh pause the game and find the fatality code uhhhhhhhhhh.". Longtime fans of the series will know that there are plenty of other variants of the end-of-match finishers, such as Babalities or Friendships. One such classic finisher, the Brutality, has been confirmed to make a comeback in the upcoming game. Rather than a long and flashy gore-fest cutscene, a Brutality is a special move that you can add to the end of a combo as long as that combo ends with the enemy having no life left, and you'll finish them off with a quick and gory final attack. A new trailer shows off many of the brutalities you can expect to fall victim to in the full game.

4. A Story Trailer Rich with Info

Finally, another new trailer that dropped recently was the official story trailer for the game. NetherRealm crafted an amazing story mode for "Mortal Kombat 9," their previous entry in the series. It was unlike any other fighting game, with deep and engaging cutscenes that seamlessly flowed into and out of fights with barely any visible loading times. It was a refreshing way to tell a story in a fighting game, and it seems like they plan to stick with it in the newest entry. The story trailer sets up the basic premise of the narrative, but leaves enough open to ensure players will be surprised when they get their hands on it. Additionally, a number of new and classic characters are shown off, though only a few were seen actually fighting in-game. The rest of the characters were only visible in cutscenes, but with the release of the game coming soon, we'll know soon if any other characters made it into the roster.